Bummed

Goog rock electro album

The drug stories of this band belie the mellow output.

Good listen. Very upbeat. Nice blend of synth and post-punk with some solid pop hooks in there to reel you in. This is something I think I'll enjoy even more with multiple listens. Surprised a bit at how tame it sounds for a band that is notorious for their drug-fueled exploits.

Has a lot of elements I do like in music but just spent a lot of times saying to myself 'omg shut up' The back half is a lot stronger in my opinion tho

I tried to like this album in the 80's. I tried again yesterday. 0/2. Sorry boys

1. 4 2. 3 3. 4.5 4. 3.5 5. 4 1. 2.5 2. 3 3. 2.5 4. 2 5. 3

I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially not being familiar with this artist at all. I wasn't blown away by every track, but there was enough here that I enjoyed that I'd return to this or check out more from them.

Nicht das meine!

I'm getting bummed just listening to this. The discordant, warbling vocals are not my jam at all.

Listening to it with the perspective that it is related to stone roses, it is quite good. The singer still has a substance thing going on. On their other album I accused the singer of abusing valium, here it's extacy. I guess extacy gives better results than valium but not as good as coke and booze... Or can we just not? What's next? Some dark music made by cave dwellers, high on DMT with autism, so you know it's good?

I got this album on a Monday, it wasn't that happy

Happy Mondays are one of those bands that have always been around since I was a kid, whether it was Shaun Ryder going off the rails or Bez appearing on the latest celebrity show and you will never go anywhere without hearing Step On or Kinky Afro in Manchester. Tell you what though, this album slaps. A weird mix of Hannett's production, post punk noise and pounding beats. Fuck yeah.

80’s synth pop rock, leaning more toward a rock sound. Was different enough from the 80’s crap I’m used to. 2.5/5.0

Didn't necessarily like the 80s drum sound, but the rest wasn't bad.

Drug induced new wave shit.

5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background

one word: drugs.

3,5

Knew the name of the band, the lead singer and the lad Baz that joins later? Anyway I was expecting something more dancey since they are so associated with ecstasy. 1.5/5. Raising to 2.

Aptly-named album

I must.. Happy Monday everyone !! yuk yuk - what did y'all think of them, I used to love them, bought this album when it came out. They don't really age well .. couple of tracks still cool - this was a weird musical time - I was also listening to APB & Pre Fab Sprout (still love them the most) and Ned's Atomic Dustbin 2.5 for the happy mondays..

I was pretty bored with this but it sounds a bit like the Cure and possibly an Oasis influencer.

This is like polyester. It can be used to for a range of garments: durable, strong, and cheap. But, it also out stays it's welcome, retains odor, and is terrible for the environment.

In the 60s it was art school. In the 70s/80s it was the dole. For a country that has 20% of the US population their outsized cultural affect for the last 60 years is unquestionable. In the 60s pretty much every rock bio starts with key members meeting in art school (with the notable exception of Mick Jagger who instead attended the London School of Economics - more what we can surmise from that at a later date). In the 70s and 80s the origin stories inevitably shift to the dole. It comes up time and time again. Being on the dole gave you just enough enough support to avoid the reality of growing and allowed a variety of young folks to pursue their art in whatever form that was. For the Happy Mondays it served to keep two reprobate brothers not necessarily out of trouble but at least off the street. The value of what they did with that time is up for debate but they certainly moved the needle on music (and drug) culture. Along the way helping ushed in a era of dance culture that appealed to guitar loving lads and lasses. This particular album - it is not their best. That comes on their next outing. Many of the best songs - and the best and most popular versions of those songs - are not on the original album. Happy Mondays benefitted from the remix treatment. Where previously most remixes were just extended versions of songs that had long instrumental sections. Hallelujah is a complete reinvention. Same with WTF. They are like new songs with lives of their own. This album if anything is a shot heard round the world. The war is still to be waged but establishing the whole world under a groove has to start somewhere. Somehow this gauzy ramshackle album headed by a couple of brothers with professed Lazyitis got things going. 3.5 stars.

Had never heard of this album or this band. Was pleasantly surprised. Solid grooves and fun music. More like a 3.5/5, but I’m not rounding up

britpop.. een genre dat alle kanten op gaat... deze ging vooral de verkeerde kant uit

Pretty groovy project. Gotta say, I'm really liking the psych rock projects on this list.

6/10… madchester / 80s indie / *1988

I can't say I liked this album. I can say I respect it and could hear why people would like or love this album. The sound was unique as a whole, though I got Britpop vibes throughout. The vocals were, at times, rough. Again, I appreciate the unique sound. This was ultimately not in my wheelhouse.

Not really sure why the ratings for this are so low. This album is fine, not great, but fine. Mid 3.

At their best I enjoy the mondays, but this isn't hitting. Production is pretty awful. Ryder definitely has a style and a vibe but the vocals are too low in the mix to come across. Hallelujiah and Kinky Afro are two of their best songs, but this made me realise that the remixes are far bettervthan the originals. You can see the start of something good, but putting this on ahead of PT&B seems a rash choice. A strong 2.

Can without the musical ability? Maybe...Can't?

First new-to-me album to receive 5 stars!

not convinced

There’s a few decent tracks on here, but as a whole, this is a pretty weak album. They interpolated ‘Ticket To Ride’ by The Beatles on the closing track, but the song was weak and I don’t really think that the whole Beatles interpolation was very well done. ‘Mad Cyril’ was actually a great track, but that’s what made it stand out. I’d definitely listen to a few individual tracks, but I don’t see myself revisiting this as an album too often.

Despite how much I saw people talking about how revolutionary this album is, I couldn't hear anything that wasn't either standard for the era or already done by those who came before

This was a good listen with some enjoyable feel good songs.

so tired of this. another boring brit punk album

MUY buen album, ningun tema malo super recomendable.

clown music.

Went into this album completely blind because not only had I not heard any of the songs, I also hadn’t even heard of the band itself. It was an ok 80s album, very of its time. I had to turn on the lyrics because it was hard to make out what he was saying (what’s up with that weird pronounciation of “work” in the fourth track?). My fav was Mad Cyril

Quite enjoyed that! Reminded me of Talking Heads. Groovy. Yeah, the vocals aren't great but neither are the Talking Heads'. 4/5

I thought this was fine. I've heard about happy Mondays over the years because of all the British panel shows but it was just ok for me

I liked this.

Never heard of this album or artist before so not sure what to expect. Couple of good songs most is just ok.

3/10

Fucked with this way more than I thought I would. Easy to see how much music changed in the 80s just through these albums

what the helly

MADchester era music just doesn’t work for me. Real tinny mix too

I'm bummed by this album (my guess it that I must be the 2386th to make this joke).

This is certainly one way to take the happy out of my Monday. I wanted this to be good, but I am definitely bummed because this album doesn't hold up over time. It's incredibly average, and there's not much here that makes me want to come back to it. Finding out that the original track listing is only 10 tracks long, but I'm being fed a collector's edition with over two hours of this nonsense has me bumming even harder. I will say some of the mixes are better than the originals, so there's that.

I like the energetic sound. “Country Song” is an a strong opener. I could understand what Shaun Ryder’s vocals on all songs but this one, but mere quibbles. “Fat Lady Wrestler is a band name waiting to happen. “Wrote for Luck” stood out for me. Can tell that a drug addled brain came up with “Do It Better” lyrics but I still like it, as well as “Lazyitis.”

At first it seemed okay but it quickly became grating and the production quality didn't seem great.

80's slop. Voice of the singer got grating after a while.

Pre Listen: I haven't heard of the album or artist, but man does that album cover look familiar to me. Perhaps I'll have heard a song or two from this, and I'll remember where later down the album. Notable Tracks: Mad Cyril - Favorite track, and the only song on the album I somewhat enjoyed. I think it's the only song where the repetitive nature of Happy Monday's style actually somewhat works. Bring a Friend - My patience for the album started to really drop here. It just got too badgering. Do It Better - Only song I skipped on the album, and my least favorite. The singing sounds like it's being done by a cracked-out junkie, and the backing track is so awful and repetitive. Post Listen: One of those albums that feels as though I'm listening to a broken record. In every song, the isntrumental work starts solid enough, for all of 10-20 seconds. Then it loops, and the band sticks to that 10-20 second melody for the rest of each 3 to 6-minute-long song. Then the vocals kick in and make it even worse. Bro sounds like how a toddler given the mic might sing. It's just ramble, noisy nonsense, I couldn't understand him more than half the time. Bummed, the album, got me bummed out by how shitty it was. 2/5

It’s a 3.5 and wrote for luck is an all time classic

This is so mid; I like the overall genre but this is a really plain example of it.

I dunno, it didn't stand out at all

Dull and boring. No tunes to speak off. The did get better on the next album but not something I would listen to again

I enjoyed the music but not the recording.

Not super interesting - you would think that an album fueled by ecstasy would have more punch to it

Not bad but not that memorable. Felt like mediocre alt rock.

Decent sound. Decent album. Nothing memorable.

I like this album much more conceptually than I do in reality

I was bummed I had to listen to this

fun and funky!!!! liked listening while driving

Fine but nothing memorable.

This had potential to be cool and interesting, but unfortunately, it was really just boring. That’s the kind of album I find the most frustrating. I don’t have a lot to say about this one. 2.5

Enjoyed - because it was the deluxe version on Spotify there were various versions of the same track, but decent - toying between 3 and 4 and just gets 4

Pretty darn bland as far as psychedelic music goes. Not truly unpleasant but nothing to stick onto, strangely boring. Won’t be coming back to this.

I read the reviews of this one first, so I was prepared to hate it. I am actually surprised by how much I didn’t hate it. I can’t help thinking how fresh this must have sounded in 1988. How different it is from the 80s “alternative” in clubs and on the radio. The lyrics are often juvenile, trying to be shocking, but it’s kind of endearing. It’s memorable, anyway. My favorite song was probably the most mainstream one, the single “Lazyitis.” But even that song ends with a “wah wah wah wah wah wah wah” and some odd, feeble attempts at whistling – what is that doing there? The dancey acid house stuff wasn’t bad, but the individual songs went on for too long. Seeing as they were meant to be danced to in clubs, though, I don’t hold it against them. All in all, this wasn’t my favorite record, and I don’t think I’m going to listen to it again, but I think it was innovative for its time and it certainly influenced a lot of music that I love.

good

1/5

Haven't heard an album like this one in a while, it's energetic and loud, but this style has everything in its favor. It's a band that takes everything and go at it for each song, the feel is loud and intentional. Very very good.

Well, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard…

disappointing - Madchester on feeble-minded drugs

Pretty solid album

ok

The background of this album is a whirlwind. Fat Lady Wrestlers was certainly a choice. The only reason I’m giving it 3 vs 2 is because I really enjoyed Wrote for Luck - great song. And the Ticket to Ride part of Lazyitis was fun.

No.

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Lazyitis This album makes me bummed out. I can't relate to it. I've never been to a drug-fueled rave before. I've never done Ecstasy. I'm not English. I wasn't even alive when the album came out. It's not really my kind of psychedelic or funk. It just sounds like new wave; another 80s new wave band in an ocean of new wave and post-punk English bands on the List. Also, I ain't listening to the 2 hour version of the album, despite it being the only version on YTM. I stopped at the end of Side 2: "Lazy Itis".

Better than I remember them being. Not life altering, but definitely more influential on my tastes and other bands than I would have thought. They are more than the one or two songs I remembered and pretty quality slice of music from that era and genre. 3.

Lame '80s pop album. This list is full of bloat like this which I can't wrap my head around. So many other groups do this genre much better and are more renowned but for whatever reason this list wants to be a bit pretentious and edgy so it takes these no name, crappy artists.

Happy Mondays oli iso juttu Britanniassa 80-luvun lopulla ja 90-luvun alussa, mutta minulle yhtye on tuttu vain 24 Hour Party People-leffasta. Bändin musiikki ei ole kestänyt aikaa erityisen hyvin. Ainakin 2000-luvulla syntyneen korviin bändin rockia ja tanssimusiikkia yhdistelevä musiikki ei kuulosta kovin freesiltä enää. Tältä levyltä välittyy kuitenkin tiettyä hämyistä asennetta, jota arvostan. Shaun Ryder on melko onneton vokalisti.

They’re all kinda the same thing. In a not so good way

Los Happy Mondays son como ese amigo impredecible en las fiestas. No sabes si se va a orinar encima o será el alma de la reunión.

Kuulasin seda trenni taustaks ja ausalt, ei suutnud nii palju süveneda. Ma ei kuula hetkel kõrvaklappidega muusikat, kuna mul on värske kõrvaauk ja ma kardan seda nakatada ja ausalt kõlarist muusika kuulamine pole ikka sama. Ma arvan, et ma hindan klappidega kuulatud muusikat alati kõrgemini. Aga ma niipalju oskasin öelda, et oli okei muusika.

Not my favorite Brit Pop thing— a bit too dance and club influenced— but you have to appreciate their chutzpah. A true wall of sound/ samples that gets a little too cacaphonous at times, but it really can be a compelling mix at times. Maybe a little bit The The mixed with New Order?

All I seem to be getting out of this list lately is that Brits have really fucking awful taste in music.

I was mainly 'Bummed' listening to this. Some weird alternative Brit stuff that's bleak. Top tracks: "Moving in With," "Mad Cyril"

--Country Song...not my thing --Moving in With...not digging the production. very muddy. I'm also listening to the "remastered" version --Mad Cyril...production lacking again; everything feels compressed. need more dynamic range --Fat Lady Wrestlers...like all the instruments are under water. I don't get it. there's a decent groove in here once you dig through the mud --Performance...sound is more crisp here. nice bass, nice guitar tone. first track I'd add to a playlist --Brain Dead...another solid bass grove. production quality is weirdly backloaded on this LP. Shaun Ryder actually doing a little singing here --Wrote for Luck...another solid groove but is this something I need to hear before I die? --Bring a Friend...nice rhythm guitar but Shaun is just kind of there shouting over it --Do It Better...yes, do it better, guys. skip --Lazyitis...jangly guitars. the Ryders should stay away from jangly. some "Ticket to Ride" in here

It's fine. The music is lively and played well but I'm not entirely sold on the lead singer's voice.

eh. got bored of it really quickly.

Could definitely hear where the happy Mondays were heading with this. Did sound like an album made on drugs to be fair, as each song would have a nice groove that was repeated until it was uninteresting. Didn't recognise any songs on this and while it was fairly inoffensive I wouldn't say it was good. 2.5.

The other album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches, had a lot more going on, but this wasn't awful. Wouldn't choose to listen again mind. Comes across as partly addled.

Didn't have particularly high hopes for this after the opening track, but in fairness it was better than I was expecting. He can't sing, but not sure that's the point. It's of a particular era and scene, which I think is probably lost on most of the non British reviewers. 11 of the 27 songs on the collectors edition that this list links to are versions of hallelujah or wrote for luck....40% of the album are versions of the same 2 tracks! I didn't listen to them all and not sure the collectors edition was necessary. Pills, thrills and bellyaches is better, but not by as much as I was expecting. 2.5 again

meh

pretty dull

This did very little for me, just background music, but didn’t hate it. 2.9/5

sometimes I also question ms if it's just a heavy influence of some spefic culture a person grew up in, that led them to add this to 1001 essential album. This album is not bad, definitely. But nothing extremely special. New wave, reverb, drugs etc. But I heard something similar not once